ICANN Board Approves .Com RA Extension

ICANN has just released the Approved Board Resolutions from its meeting of Thursday, September 15th, and one of its major actions was to approve the proposed extension of the .Com registry Agreement (RA) through November 2024. The complete text of the Resolution and the rationale for its adoption can be found at the end of this post.

Wholesale prices of .Com domains are unaffected by the RA extension and remain frozen at $7.85 through the end of November 2018 under the terms of the separate Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the NTIA. As the Department of Justice explained in an August 31stletter to Sen. Ted Cruz, once the RA is extended the NTIA will have full leeway to extend the price freeze through 2024.

ICA had filed a public comment, in which we indicated non-opposition to the proposed extension so long as it did not affect .Com pricing or get tied to policy decisions that should not properly be injected into contract negotiations between ICANN and registries.

As stated in the Executive Summary of ICA’s comment letter:

ICA has no objection to the proposed .Com RA extension as it simply provides the same additional six year contract term that Verisign would be entitled to in 2018 under its contractual right of presumptive renewal. It will have the salutary effect of preventing GDD staff from attempting to impose the URS and other new gTLD RPMs on .Com during a time when an active ICANN Working Group is exploring the policy question of whether any of these RPMs should become Consensus Policy applicable to legacy gTLDs.

Our non-objection is based on our understanding that the contract term extension will have no impact on the pricing of .Com domains, as the current price freeze they are subject to is contained in the separate Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the NTIA.

While we have no general objection to ICANN’s practice of non-interference with the pricing policies of gTLD registries, we do believe that any registry’s abuse of pricing power should weigh against its right of presumptive renewal. We therefore believe that ICANN should amend all registry contracts to make clear that, at a minimum, a registry operator subject to successful government action for violations of antitrust or competition laws should face competitive rebid of its contract. Such amendment would further discourage all gTLD registries from engaging in abusive and anticompetitive market conduct.

While the proposed RA extension is justified by the present intermingling of .Com and Root Zone technical operations, given that the related RZMA between ICANN and Verisign contemplates the possibility of future termination or transition, we would urge ICANN to take steps to assure that the intermingling does not continue to such an extent that would make the exercise of those options technically infeasible or contrary to the security and stability of the DNS.

As ICA anticipated, trademark interests such as the International Trademark Association (INTA) and ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) opposed approval of the proposed RA extension unless Verisign committed in advance to adopt the rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) created for the new gTLD program. Some new gTLD registry operators took a similar position. The question of whether those RPMs should become applicable to legacy gTLDs like .Com is presently being considered by an ICANN working group reviewing all RPMs in all gTLDs, and it is expected to issue a draft report and recommendations in mid-2017. That GNSO-created policy review group is the proper place for such issues to be transparently studied and decided, rather than in closed door negotiations between ICANN staff and registry operators.

In explaining its decision, the Board noted that some commenters had wanted the Board to specify what additional subjects should be discussed by ICANN and Verisign in potential negotiations between now and 2018, but it refused to do so, explaining:

While the Board acknowledges the suggested changes to the proposed Amendment to specify what provisions will be discussed by the two-year anniversary of the proposed Amendment, the Board notes that the language as drafted in the proposed Amendment balances providing a commitment to engage in negotiations, while providing leeway to consider future topics related to preserving and enhancing the security and stability of the Internet or the TLD in this changing landscape.

The Board also noted the comments that had called for it to impose the new gTLD RPMs as part of this approval, and explained why it had declined to do so:

The Board acknowledges the comments that the .COM Registry Agreement should be brought in line with new safeguards and intellectual property protections found in the New gTLD Registry Agreement. Some of the commenters noted that certain legacy gTLD Registry Operators have adopted the general form of the New gTLD Registry Agreement (e.g .PRO, .CAT, .TRAVEL) including the additional enhancements and safeguards, and .COM should be required to do the same. Some suggested that not requiring .COM to be subject to the new enhancements, safeguards, and intellectual property protections in the New gTLD Registry Agreement raises concerns about whether ICANN is adhering to its core values related to non-discriminatory or preferential treatment, serving the public interest, transparency, and competition. The Board notes that the proposed Amendment posted for public comment is a simple extension of the current term of the agreement, and moving to the form of the new gTLD Registry Agreement would require longer discussion and community consultation. Proposing a simple Amendment at this time to extend the term of the .COM registry agreement is intended to maintain the stable, secure, and reliable operations of the .COM TLD.

The Board’s explanation also contains this very relevant language:

The Board acknowledges the comments suggesting that not requiring .COM to be subject to the new enhancements, safeguards, and intellectual property protections in the New gTLD Registry Agreement raises concerns about whether ICANN is adhering to its core values related to non-discriminatory or preferential treatment, serving the public interest, transparency, and competition….When considering the comments and approval of the proposed Amendment, the Board has taken into consideration the relevant core values in order to balance the competing priorities.

The Board further acknowledges comments concerning competitive issues and providing a level playing field. Article II, Section 3 of ICANN’s Bylaws state, “ICANN shall not apply its standards, policies, procedures, or practices inequitably or single out any particular party for disparate treatment unless justified by substantial and reasonable cause, such as the promotion of effective competition.” The Board notes the .COM Registry Agreement contains many different terms that are not present in other registry agreements. These unique terms might be considered either favorable or unfavorable depending on one’s point of view. For example, the price control provision in Section 7.3 of the .COM registry agreement tightly controls the ability of the registry operator to raise prices in a manner that is not present in any other registry agreement.

Summing up, ICA commends the Board for not entangling a simple extension of the .Com RA intended to assure the security and stability of the DNS with policy decisions that are being properly addressed in an ongoing ICANN working group. Although the extension commits both ICANN and Verisign to engage in such additional discussions as are necessary for consistency with any changes to, or the termination or expiration of, the Cooperative Agreement between NTIA and Verisign, any such discussions will likely take place after the RPM Review WG has rendered its consensus on whether any of the new gTLD RPMs should become Consensus Policy and, equally important, whether any of them should be modified going forward.

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Text of ICANN Board Resolution and Rationale—

.COM Registry Agreement Amendment

Whereas, ICANN and Verisign engaged in discussions on a proposed amendment to the 1 December 2012 .COM Registry Agreement (“Amendment”) and agreed to extend the term of the Agreement to 30 November 2024 to coincide with the term of the Root Zone Maintainer Services Agreement in order to enhance the security, stability and resiliency of root zone operations.

Whereas, the proposed Amendment also requires Verisign and ICANN to cooperate and negotiate in good faith to: (1) amend the .COM Registry Agreement by the second anniversary date of the proposed Amendment in order to preserve and enhance the security of the Internet or the TLD; and (2) as may be necessary for consistency with changes to the Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the U.S. Department of Commerce. All other terms and conditions in the existing Registry Agreement remain unchanged.

On 1 December 2012, ICANN and Verisign, entered into a Registry Agreement under which Verisign operates the .COM top-level domain. The agreement is set to expire on 30 November 2018. ICANN and Verisign have negotiated a proposed Amendment, which was posted for a 42-day ICANN public comment period between 30 June 2016 and 12 August 2016. At this time, the Board is approving the proposed Amendment for the continued operation of .COM TLD by Verisign.

What is the proposal being considered?

The proposed Amendment: (1) extends the term of the .COM Registry Agreement to 30 November 2024 to coincide with the term of the Root Zone Maintainer Services Agreement(RZMA) between ICANN and Verisign; (2) commits Verisign and ICANN to cooperate and negotiate in good faith to amend the .COM Registry Agreement by the second anniversary date of the proposed Amendment in order to preserve and enhance the security of the Internet or theTLD; (3) commits Verisign and ICANN to cooperate and negotiate in good faith to amend the terms of the .COM Registry Agreement as may be necessary for consistency with changes to the Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the U.S. Department of Commerce. All other terms and conditions of the existing Registry Agreement remain unchanged.

Which stakeholders or others were consulted?

ICANN engaged in bilateral negotiations with Verisign to agree to the terms of the proposed Amendment. The proposed Amendment was then published for public comment from 30 June 2016 to 12 August 2016. Following the public comment period, the comments were summarized and analyzed.

The Board carefully considered the public comments received for the proposed Amendment, along with the summary and analysis of those comments.

The Board acknowledges that some commenters were generally supportive of the proposed Amendment, and some expressed general support but also asked ICANN and/or Verisign to clarify the relationship of the Cooperative Agreement and proposed Amendment, particularly around pricing, and the provisions or topics that would be the subject of good faith negotiations by the second anniversary of the effective date of the proposed Amendment.

While the Board acknowledges the suggested changes to the proposed Amendment to specify what provisions will be discussed by the two-year anniversary of the proposed Amendment, the Board notes that the language as drafted in the proposed Amendment balances providing a commitment to engage in negotiations, while providing leeway to consider future topics related to preserving and enhancing the security and stability of the Internet or the TLD in this changing landscape.

With respect to revising the proposed Amendment to account for potential changes to, or cancelation of the Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the Department of Commerce, the Board notes that the proposed Amendment already takes into account the Cooperative Agreement. The proposed Amendment includes language, requiring ICANN and Verisign to engage in good faith negotiations to make changes to the .COM Registry Agreement as may be necessary for consistency with changes to, or the termination or expiration of, the Cooperative Agreement.

The Board also acknowledges that there were several comments submitted relating to prices for .COM domain names. Some commenters suggested that the current price cap in the Registry Agreement must remain in place, while others recommended that prices must be reduced. The Board notes that Section 7.3(d) of the .COM Registry Agreement specifies the maximum price that Verisign can charge for registry services. The proposed Amendment does not change this provision.

The Board also acknowledges the comments submitted opposing the presumptive renewal right provision in the .COM Registry Agreement and suggestions that the presumptive renewal right should be taken away if certain events occur, such as an uncured material breach of the Registry Agreement. Others suggested that instead of extending the .COM Registry Agreement, it should be put out for a competitive public tender to ensure that the registrants are charged lower prices. The Board notes that the presumptive right of renewal in Section 4.2 of the .COM Registry Agreement is a provision that is in all of ICANN’s registry agreements. The provision allows a registry operator the right to renew the agreement at its expiration, provided that the registry operator is in good standing at the time of renewal as set forth under the terms of the presumptive renewal provision. This presumptive renewal provision is in place to ensure stability, security, and reliability in the operation of the TLD, i.e., to encourage long-term investment in robust TLD operations. This has served public interest by encouraging investment in the TLD registry infrastructure and improvements in reliability of the TLD operations. ICANN has previously described the rationale for presumptive renewal for registries: “Absent countervailing reasons, there is little public benefit, and some significant potential for disruption, in regular changes of a registry operator. In addition, a significant chance of losing the right to operate the registry after a short period creates adverse incentives to favor short-term gain over long-term investment. On the other hand, the community, acting through ICANN, must have the ability to replace a registry operator that is not adequately serving the community in the operation of a registry.”

The Board acknowledges the comments that the .COM Registry Agreement should be brought in line with new safeguards and intellectual property protections found in the New gTLD Registry Agreement. Some of the commenters noted that certain legacy gTLD Registry Operators have adopted the general form of the New gTLD Registry Agreement (e.g .PRO, .CAT, .TRAVEL) including the additional enhancements and safeguards, and .COM should be required to do the same. Some suggested that not requiring .COM to be subject to the new enhancements, safeguards, and intellectual property protections in the New gTLD Registry Agreement raises concerns about whether ICANN is adhering to its core values related to non-discriminatory or preferential treatment, serving the public interest, transparency, and competition. The Board notes that the proposed Amendment posted for public comment is a simple extension of the current term of the agreement, and moving to the form of the new gTLD Registry Agreement would require longer discussion and community consultation. Proposing a simple Amendment at this time to extend the term of the .COM registry agreement is intended to maintain the stable, secure, and reliable operations of the .COM TLD.

The Board also notes that the proposed Amendment provides a provision that commits ICANN and Verisign to cooperate and negotiate in good faith to amend the .COM Registry Agreement by the second anniversary date of the proposed amendment in order to preserve and enhance the security of the Internet or the TLD. This language was negotiated to provide an opportunity for future discussions that may be needed to discuss potential changes to preserve and enhance the security of the Internet or the .COM TLD.

The Board acknowledges comments asking for confirmation that Verisign will be required to implement future developed consensus policies that may provide for additional safeguards and enhancements. The Board notes that Section 3.1 (b) of the .COM Registry Agreement states that, “At all times during the term of this Agreement and subject to the terms hereof, Registry Operator will fully comply with and implement all Consensus Policies found athttp://www.icann.org/en/general/consensus-policies.htm, as of the Effective Date and as may in the future be developed and adopted in accordance with ICANN’s Bylaws and as set forth below.”

The Board acknowledges the comments that opposed the early renewal of the .COM Registry Agreement and the linkage to the Root Zone Maintainer Agreement (RZMA). These comments noted that the root zone maintainer infrastructure should never have become “inextricably intertwined” with Verisign’s .COM operations. Some questioned how linking the two agreements would enhance the security, stability and resiliency of root operations and argued that the linkage represents a single source of failure. These commenters urged ICANN technical staff to begin exploring how some practical separation between root zone and .COM technical operations might be achieved if that eventuality ever arises, and to assure that such action does not pose a threat to the security and stability of the DNS.

The Board notes that Verisign has been providing “registration services” under its Cooperative Agreement with NTIA for many years, which was broadly defined to include root zone maintainer function and .COM Top Level Domain registry services. Given the unified nature of these two functions under the Cooperative Agreement, much of the infrastructure supporting the root zone maintainer function is “intertwined” with Verisign’s TLD operations for .COM. A key component of ensuring security of the root operations was making sure that those operations continued to benefit from its historic association with the .COM operations. This was achieved by the proposed simple extension of the .COM Registry Agreement to coincide with the term of the new RZMA. While the terms of the agreements are linked together in the sense that they would expire at the same time, the agreements do not contain any provisions linking the performance of the obligations under the .COM Registry Agreement with the obligations under the RZMA. In fact, the Root Zone Maintainer Services Agreement (“RZMA”), approved by theICANN Board on 9 August 2016, includes provisions that provide the community the ability – through a consensus-based, community-driven process – to require ICANN to transition the root zone maintainer function to another service provider three years after the effective date of the agreement.

The Board acknowledges the comments suggesting that not requiring .COM to be subject to the new enhancements, safeguards, and intellectual property protections in the New gTLD Registry Agreement raises concerns about whether ICANN is adhering to its core values related to non-discriminatory or preferential treatment, serving the public interest, transparency, and competition.

The Board notes that the Bylaws enumerate core values that should guide the decisions and actions of ICANN in performing its mission, and ICANN takes seriously its commitment to those values. As provided in the Bylaws, the “core values are deliberately expressed in very general terms, so that they may provide useful and relevant guidance in the broadest possible range of circumstances. Because they are not narrowly prescriptive, the specific way in which they apply, individually and collectively, to each new situation will necessarily depend on many factors that cannot be fully anticipated or enumerated; and because they are statements of principle rather than practice, situations will inevitably arise in which perfect fidelity to all eleven core values simultaneously is not possible. Any ICANN body making a recommendation or decision shall exercise its judgment to determine which core values are most relevant and how they apply to the specific circumstances of the case at hand, and to determine, if necessary, an appropriate and defensible balance among competing values.” When considering the comments and approval of the proposed Amendment, the Board has taken into consideration the relevant core values in order to balance the competing priorities.

The Board further acknowledges comments concerning competitive issues and providing a level playing field. Article II, Section 3 of ICANN’s Bylaws state, “ICANN shall not apply its standards, policies, procedures, or practices inequitably or single out any particular party for disparate treatment unless justified by substantial and reasonable cause, such as the promotion of effective competition.” The Board notes the .COM Registry Agreement contains many different terms that are not present in other registry agreements. These unique terms might be considered either favorable or unfavorable depending on one’s point of view. For example, the price control provision in Section 7.3 of the .COM registry agreement tightly controls the ability of the registry operator to raise prices in a manner that is not present in any other registry agreement.

Are there positive or negative community impacts?

ICANN conducted a review of Verisign’s recent performance under the current .COM Registry Agreement and found that Verisign substantially met its contractual requirements.

The Board’s approval of the proposed Amendment is intended to ensure the continued stable, secure, and reliable operations of the .COM TLD.

Are there fiscal impacts or ramifications on ICANN (strategic plan, operating plan, budget); the community; and/or the public?

There is no significant fiscal impact expected if the Board approves the proposed Amendment.

Are there any security, stability or resiliency issues relating to the DNS?

There are no expected security, stability, or resiliency issues related to the DNS if the Board approves the proposed Amendment